saying it's been completely destroyed now from this storm. >> eric: good news, snooki is safe. >> gretchen: hopefully. michelle malkin tomorrow. bob massi tom to help you with your real estate needs. have a great day. >> steve: see you tomorrow, everybody. everyone. a lot to recover. fox news alert on the road to recovery for millions. we're set to hear from the army corps of engineers. lower manhattan, the monumental task pumping out all the water from miles and miles of subways. at least 55 people dead along the atlantic coast as the search for survivors intensifies. good morning, everybody. i'm bill hemmer, back together here in new york. how are you doing? martha: welcome back. road trip. bill: details on that forthcoming. martha: so welcome back, great to have you back. hi, everybody, i'm martha maccallum. we all wake up to the second morning of all of this now.

the pictures just become more devastating as reality of what really happened begins to sink in. you have millions of people who are still in the dark and probably will be for some time. you have america's biggest transportation system in the whole metro area largely still at a standstill. boy, there is an image for you this morning. talk about transportation. you have a boat, just one of many tossed onto the commuter tracks to the train that comes into manhattan. that is going to make it pretty difficult to commute along the trackses. look at this. a lot of people have very good childhood memories of day as the new jersey shore. the roller-coasters there. the log flume ride that governor christie talked about yesterday. this is a place kids in new jersey look forward to than anyplace else. the amusement park along seaside heights. it is absolutely heartbreaking. it is gone. it is gone and it will need

to be rebuilt. governor christie trying to keep everyone's spirits up. we're a tough state and we will rebuild but you just, you never imagine in your life, as i think he said yesterday you will ever see anything like this. bill: yesterday at this time we did not have helicopters in the air. now that we have the aerial pictures you can see the scope of devastation there. there are people blogging near this area that suggested seaside heights has been destroyed. martha: looks like it has. bill: based on images here. you look at the boardwalk and all the debris that comes in with a storm like this, that is a much different place today, for so many people. we're going to see the governor down there a bit later today. president obama on the jersey shore. we move down to rick leventhal live on the shore. but now in point pleasant. rick, you've been working yeoman's hours down there. what have you found for us

today? >> reporter: well as we've been hearing from the governor, bill. yesterday he said yesterday was a day for sorry row and he wants to focus on rebuilding today. this is one of the reasons why new jersey's transit system for the most part grounded because of boats on railroad tracks. this is not the only one. this is a scene repeated up and down the coastal train lines. you see all sorts of debris, pilings, pieces of dock, generic stuff. there is a fuel tank over there. you see another boat off? in the distance. there are boats on commuter rail tracks. these train tracks lead to the town which was hit as hard as point pleasant was. there are oil leaks keeping residents off the streets. there are numerous if not hundreds of damaged homes. sand in the streets like we saw in point pleasant beach, cars overturned. the situation is very, very bad. the they're not letting people into that community.

spring lake, another new jersey shore town, not a single board left on the boardwalk. hit very, very hard. you mentioned seaside heights. we're getting aerials of seaside heights, that community was ravaged. the famous roller coaster now in the ocean. homes underwater. there are still homes in point pleasant beach underwater. we saw them this morning on our way out of town. the situation here is die. 2.7 millions homes and businesses without power at the peak. it is a remarkable site. bill: driving home when you cross the border from pennsylvania into new jersey, it is just blackness out there. there is no power. there are no lights. but what you're showing us there does that run just along the shoreline or how much further does that go inland? >> reporter: well these tracks run along the shore. i don't have the exact mileage for you but i know there are issues like this for a very significant stretch. that they have a lot of

cleanup to do to get racks tracks running. we heard this morning bus service was restored in camden county, new jersey, that is one county out of entire state where the transit system is operating buses. they have so far to go here, bill. they are just beginning. bill: we're looking screen right. that is the town of manesqan that you're crew is trying to get in. police are doing their work as well. the images are from one of our colleagues, nicole acesy whose parents and grandparents spend a lot of time in the town. i think what you will find is a scene of devastation. >> reporter: we're headed there next. we got secure permission to at least get in the town with our camera and look what is going on down there. we're told it's bad. bill: we'll see you next hour. rick leventhal along the shore. martha. martha: sun peeking out from

the clouds which is a welcome sight. in new jersey the destruction is far from over. there is a fire to report this morning that broken out in. a shore town that has suffered severe damage from the storm. officials believe that natural gas lines are fueling the big flames that you see in these evening pictures. rescuers pulled more than 200 stranded people in mantoloking to safety. 200 homes are destroyed in the fire. that is down from the spring lake area which rick was talking about and a little above the area which rick is heading into. the fires have been another dimension to the whole story we've been ever coulding. meanwhile at the height of the storm more than 8.5 million people lost power across 17 states, extending from the carolinas, all the way to ohio. let's get an update on that situation now. about 7 million homes now without power. that number extends across

15 states at this point. new york and new jersey hit the hardest when it comes to the power outages with a combined 4 million residents still in the dark. bill: the travel nightmare continues. you have to imagine how many people have been affected by this. show you the scene in laguardia here in new york, one of the busiest in the country. water literally covers the runways. so far airlines canceled more than 18,000 flights because of sandy. flights are starting to move out of the new york area. jfk and liberty airports will be open today for a bit of limited service. you have to remember too the international service. we were trying to get home from ohio. we're like millions and millions of people stacked up across the country. had to drive last night. beautiful drive. 7 hours and 50 minutes from columbus, ohio. martha: that is very good time. bill: thank you, officer. all jokes aside. you driving through the storm you feel cold weather generating from the storm. you move into pa and get all the snow in the southern

part of the state. i mentioned to rick leventhal, you cross the border into new jersey it is dark. there is nothing open. martha: hopefully to get to here from where you were, it's a drive. so for the first time now, since before sandy hit, governor mitt romney is back on a full campaign schedule this morning on this wednesday. he is heading to one of the biggest battleground states with several events planned across florida, a state where polls show a neck and neck race with president obama. john roberts is live this morning in coral garrelses. john, how do you think the storm influenced governor romney's campaigning and the message he is on right now? >> reporter: the influence was actually major yesterday when he set aside his campaign and did a storm relief event. today will be more subtle. he has a full list of campaign events in tampa. he comes to miami. goes to jacksonville later on in the day. here is where the change

will be. the message will be about real recovery on day one with, his closing argument. very much focused on the positive. he will not be hitting the president to the same degree as he has in the past because the president still involved in the storm recovery. romney campaign turned what should have been a political event to relief event. governor outside of dayton, thanking them for thinking about fellow americans out there dealing with this terrible storm. >> we won't be able to solve all the problems with our effort this morning though a lot of people will still be looking for goods even though we gathered these things as you know. but i know one of the things i have learned in life is you make the difference you can and you can't always solve all the problems yourself but you can make the difference in the life of one or two people as a result of one or two people taking an effort. >> reporter: in terms of campaign strategy, martha, it was a pretty nimble move managing to stay in the news yesterday but also not

making it look political. martha: i'm sure those people appreciated seeing governor romney out there. president obama will be out in force today coming to new jersey. what about his campaign plans and structure of his agenda right now? >> reporter: he is still off the campaign trail though president clinton filling in for hum in wisconsin which is very interesting state to look at the way the race is tightening up. the president will be back on campaign trail tomorrow. his big event is with governor chris christie in new jersey. governor christie had high praise for the president last couple days for the response to the storm. that will be an interesting image to watch. yesterday at the red cross president obama said he would make every effort to cut through the sort of red tape that the romney campaign says he tried to our aboutry america in. here's the president. >> we have a situation where that lasts for days on end and so my instructions to the federal agency has been, do not figure out why we can't do something. i want you to figure out how

we do something. i want you to cut through red tape. i want you to cut through bureaucracy. there is no excuse for inaction at this point. >> reporter: as the campaign sets to resume full tomorrow, jim messina, president obama's campaign manager, has a video out today talking about the state of the race. talking about the advantage president obama has in all of those battleground states. the romney campaign scrambling to get facts and figures to counter that. it should be said and could be said, martha, when the campaign manager puts out a video this far into the race with an incumbent president should be able to cruise to victory they're worried about something. martha: these number you can go back and forth on battleground states and look at the tightening as you mentioned in several of them, john. thanks so much, we'll see you later. >> reporter: thank you. martha: florida is not the only state where governor romney is focusing hills efforts right now. why the republican nominee is expanding his campaign in

these final days into traditionally democratic leaning states. what is the romney strategy right now and can it work? ronald reagan's former campaign manager ed rollins has some interesting insight on this. bill: looking forward to hear from him. wall street will open up in 18 minutes. closed for two days, first time in 124 years, because of mother nature. this could be a rockky ride. we'll take you there. martha: a sight no new yorker has seen before. severe storm damaging shutting down the big apple as the national guard is arriving in new york with help. >> the neighborhood is in a bit of chaos right now. >> that is a good scripps -- description

bill: another fox news alert. these are new images on the jersey shore. we have not seen these until

now and this today is what the town of bay head, new jersey, looks like, martha. martha: bay head is south of spring lake south of point pleasant where we've seen rick leventhal throughout. it is a community on the beach. you have the beautiful bay area that comes in. there is 35 sign which runs right through the middle of bayhead. it's a small community. it is beautiful, one of the more affluentings lovely areas of the jersey shore. among that shoreline. and, yeah, where people have been going for generations. bill: one thing that strikes me about the aerial if we get it back there, it looks quite clear the tide went in and brought a lot of sapped from the ocean and the tide receded again the national guard will play a significant role in many states including new jersey. brigadier general james grant, on the task force for sandy. general, good morning to you. where are you on the jersey

shore? >> good morning. i'm in lawrenceville, new jersey, which is our headquarters. bill: what have you seen and what are you doing with your people? >> well, first, thanks for the opportunity to allow us to get the message out. currently new jersey has over 2,000 national guardsmen mobilized in support of this effort. during this we have been doing myriad of assignments including healthing support, rescue, security and assisting law enforcement and assisting any way we can with power restoration providing generators when we can. >> it is all very important and valuable work, general, as well you now. how many people still need to be rescued? >> right now those numbers, we really don't know. as you know the governor put out in his message that everybody should be evacuate and go to shelters. those that didn't evacuate we have no real hard numbers with that. but we are out and about

doing exactly what we do best. that is helping the citizens of new jersey. bill: we're looking at some pictures now, appears to be a parking lock with parked taxicabs. that is hoboken, new jersey. that would be across the hudson from new york city which is north of where you are. what have you done in hoboken? i'm reading a lots how you worked in there with large vehicles to help people there, sir? >> we have many vehicles out. actually we have over 150 high-wheeled vehicles as we like to refer them as, which can forge water and help residents, help local law enforcement and help local oems. not only in hoboken but along the jersey coast. bill: are you from new jersey. >> new jersey born and raised. bill: which town. >> i live in burlington county, have you been able to get out and see what happened to your shoreline? >> i have been out and about. bill: what have you seen? >> i've seen the same

devastation that you've seen. bill: how has it hit you? >> listen, this is very emotional but in times like this, new jersey residents are resilient. as emotional as this is right now we know the sun will come out by week's end and we will start to rebuild. the shoreline may not be the shoreline i knew growing up and playing in the sand. i can tell you what my children and children's children will have a jersey shore to play in. bill: thank you, general james grant. doing great work. keep it up. >> thank you so much. bill: if we can get the word out for you, what do you need or what do you want people to know? >> i want them to know that new jersey's here. new jersey, certainly appreciates all the support we've gotten, not only from the tri-state area but from our brothers and sisters in the military service across the nation. bill: thank you, sir. thank you, general. >> have a great day. bill: that is the new jersey national guard. you will get national guard troops in new york, massachusetts, virginia,

delaware, connecticut and maryland. that is seven states. they have got a lot of work to do over the coming days and weeks. martha: yeah. jersey's strong is a bumter sticker you see in new jersey. hopefully we'll see a lot more of those. he is absolutely right. everybody will be okay and dig out of it but it i awful and ugly right now. bill: fir time we've seen our images in our jobs. they take you to places most people can not get. first time you see it is always stunning and so striking to see what is left now. and, the future as he says we'll come back but it will take a while, no question. martha: so the cleanup efforts in so many states and also in ohio actually can cause, give you a bit of a jolt because residents there are clearing up debris. they have no electricity in parts of ohio as well. mike tobin is there where hundreds of thousands of people are still without power. >> reporter: martha, as you can see sandy is strong

enough to still pack a punch when she reaches the great lakes. details coming up. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

bill: we have new images and get used to this because we'll take you up and down the jersey shore. a beautiful day on the east coast. what a paradox that is when you look at the scene out side in new york and look at images like these and areas like long beach island now with chopper up in the air, wnyw. we'll scan the shores and figure out extent of things. martha: some houses look like they're in pretty good shape. bill: let's hope. martha: you don't know whether water receded and there is a ton of sand and water in the basements. the trees are standing. at least in the shot we're looking at some of these places will be piece by piece, block by block in terms of how much damage. bill: you figure what, we're

36 hours removed from landfall? this is ground zero for this hurricane. that is where the eyewall came onshore. it would have taken that tidal surge and thrown it into the sounds we're looking at. martha: bulldozers pushing sand back to clear some of those roads in long beach island which is a barrier island. seaside heights is out there. this is one of the areas we've been watching so closely but there are a lot of barrier islands that come along on the jersey shore where generations have been spending their summers for many, many years. so, many people who can't get down there at all to see the damage may be getting a first look at it from the aerial shoppers themselves. they're squinting and tv screen to see if they spot their house as we go by in the choppers. we don't have control over these images. we're getting what we're getting. that is a look at long beach island right now. more on that coming up. in ohio as well the race is on to restore power today in the westlake area. there are nearly 200,000

people who are in the dark. that has complicated the efforts to clear debris and repair storm damage while lights are coming back on with some in the region others are bracing for days without electricity. nobody when the power will come back on. you have to wait and see. mike tobin live in cleveland, ohio. good morning, mike. >> reporter: good morning, martha. a remarkable fact as the storm reaches the great lakes here it still has a storm surge and that surge drew enough water out of the st. marry's river, connecting it to the rest of the great lakes the water in st. maries is to shallow to be navigated according to the great lakes carriers association. on other contiguous lakes, as rough as the great lakes look right now, big carriers can handle it. 50% of the cargo haulers are back on the water today. what we're seeing in chief land around the shores here, a lot of waves crashing up over the barrier walls on to

land. we're seeing a lot of power outs. 150 homes without power. 30 boats were sunk right here in cleveland. even more cut loose from the moorings because they were banging into other boats. a number of docks were destroyed by the force of the storm. when the storm reaches the great lakes here, it was whipping across the water uninhibited at gale force strength. you go across the border to canada. once again seeing scenes of trees uprooted, power out, traffic lights out, traffic snarled. it is really remarkable, the force of the storm is not anything like it was when it made landfall but what is impressive this storm could still pack a punch when it got this far inland and this far west. as i look at a barometer on my wristwatch right now, 977 millibars of pressure. that is right at the edge of category 1 hurricane strength. martha? martha: wow! have they ever seen anything like this in that area? >> reporter: they really

haven't. so much power is out. a lot of people are retreating to the hotels from their homes because they have lost power. you have crews really doing yeoman's work throughout the night trying to get power back to these poor people who have been whipped so badly by the storm, martha. martha: boy, mike, thank you. if you are in the business of restoring people's power or cutting and hauling trees, you are busy people in the coming days to be sure. 15 states affected by the power outages. thanks very much, mike. check back with you later. bill: the wind is so far away. reporters were there 24 hours ago. they said there were 10, 15 waves on lake erie. they had never seen that before in their lives. it is expansive. we're six days away from a national election. governor romney expanding his campaign? what do we read from that? where is he going and will that strategy work? former reagan campaign manager ed rollins will stop by in a matter of moments. do not go away [ mother ] you can't leave the table

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listen today could be a rocky ride. i want to bring in gerri willis, the anchor of "the willis report" on the fox business network. good morning to you. >> good morning. bill: what is the expectation at least at the moment? >> well, let me tell you it has been all over the place. the former head of the securities & exchange commission told me thought stocks would trade lower. other people said they would trade higher. futures were higher this morning. could be rocky because they're having some issues at the exchange. as you know generators put the lights on but the issues are phone lines coming into the exchange. now, it was great to see the exchange open this morning. the new york stock exchange is an icon of american business. it's a point of pride to have that stock market open every day it can be. investors rely on that. having bloomberg on today as well sends an important message of confidence. you can't keep new york or american business down. bill: that is a fair point about this telephone connection though. a lot of this trading is done electronically. >> it is done tran i canly.

bill: what does the phones have to do with that? is that a still a major component? >> it is a still a component. there are land lines into the exchange coming in that are critical. if you want to back up with cell phone, cell phone coverage down town very spotty indeed. volume is not as strong as it used to be. about 20, 25%. a lot of trading done through dark pools, entirely electronically. new york stock exchange old school with real traders down there. big questions how this will all come out. bill: watch it. stay close. meantime in europe unemployment across the eurozone, eu, is 11.6%. >> that is 17 countries reporting there. bill: wow. >> 18.49 million people out of work, think about that. we had 7.8% here. it has gotten better. gets worse in the eurozone as so many countries now are in recession. and spain, bill, in spain,

unemployment, 25%. bill: that is remarkable. gerri, thank you. gerri willis. we'll be in contact, okay? >> thank you. bill: trading open. see you at 5:00, no, 6:00, sorry. 9:00 later tonight. 6:00 and 9:00 on "the willis report", fox business network. >> back to politics now and governor romney is expanding his campaign in the final days into several traditionally democratic-leaning states hoping to gain some ground in the path to 270 electoral votes which sfk what you need to win the presidency. so among those states where we are now seeing a push by the romney campaign, minnesota, which has 10 electoral votes, pennsylvania, which has been blue in the last three presidential elections, 20 electoral votes there. what is the strategy here? let's bring a man who knows because he has been there. ed rollins former deputy chief of staff to president reagan. also managed a campaign for mr. reagan's re-election in 1984. he has had major roles in

nine other presidential campaigns and a fox news contributor. >> good morning. happy halloween. bill: we almost forget it is halloween, right? so much else going on but not for the kids of course. so interesting to note, when you look at michigan and minnesota, and pennsylvania, why are, why are we seeing this sort of last push into some of these democratic territoris? what is the strategy, ed? >> two reasons. the basic strategy is still the same. you're still going after florida, ohio, north carolina, virginia and some of the other states but these, races are all closing up. polls that we're still functioning two days ago. and i think there's an excess of money in this campaigns, unlike, taken $90 million in the public financed past elections you wouldn't be able to do this but why not go spend 100, 200, $300,000 in the states if you have excess money and not taking away from the basics of other states. martha: we're looking at these, ed, as you've been talking, minnesota, michigan,

here's pennsylvania. similar charts as they get a lot more narrow as we come into the close. but, folks, some out there, would say, you know, that it is a desperate plea to get to 270. that it is scattershot. they're hoping one of these states will come through and help to push them over the edge. >> you're not getting 270 by winning any of these states. you will get to 270 by the basics. if you don't win ohio you will not win pennsylvania or michigan or minnesota. but you could easily within these states within the margin of error, in essence what you are in these polls, why not at this point in time? you may help other candidates running for congressional or senate races. pennsylvania is perfect example. you have a great governor there. got elected two years ago. you have a very conservative senator got elected two years ago. both houses of legislature. it is not a democrat dark blue state. it is a state where you have to make some appeal and you can do that through television. martha: it is interesting to note bill clinton was at a

university campus in minnesota the other day. he is obviously one of their biggest guns. he is the guy who some guys call the closer for president obama. why is he in minnesota, that is good question, right? >> you're forcing one of your biggest assets obviously bill clinton is, minnesota, a state ronald reagan didn't carry in 198 it tells you something. equally important you taken amajor asset away from the campaign being in florida, ohio today. so to me, there is no losing in trying to strategy. martha: i don't know if we have it, but there's a look at the race, i asked this morning, our brain room, where was carter-reagan in 1980 roughly today, at the end of october. there it is. it's amazing. jimmy carter was at 45%. this is national poll taken just days before the race. and ronald reagan was at 39%. what do you think about that? >> since i lived through it. martha: you sure did. >> i know it well. there were points reagan was

ahead prior to that. what happened in those days when you can't make a perfect parallel a whole lot of democrats who switched in the end and that gave, ronald reagan got one out of four democrats in 1980. i think he got 27%. that is obviously not going to happen this time. the positive news as we go into this sort of hiatus here because of the storm is, romney is doing extremely well among independent voters. independent voters is what will decide this election as they have the last several. martha: you know, there is so little time left, ed. obviously this storm has taken a bite out of, out of their campaign plans. you know, where do you think the romney camp needs to be right now if they have a hope of getting there? >> well they still have to be in the formula that i laid out earlier. martha: yeah. >> can't go where there is absolute chaos. you can't go into virginia and do well. what happens when you have a president or presidential campaign coming in, you pull first-responders away to protect motorcades and what

have you. right today that is detriment to those states. my sense is go to colorado, go to wisconsin, go to nevada. go to parts of ohio that aren't affected here and go to florida. don't basically go where there's big burdens on the first-responders. martha: ed, thank you so much. >> my pleasure. martha: hope to talk to you in the coming days. it will be a fascinating week ahead. >> yes it is. bill: good to lean on him for his knowledge and amount of history. martha: i can tell you because i was there. exactly what we want. bill: after being in ohio the last couple days we can talk a lot about maybe there are signs that it helps obama or signs that it favors romney. one thing that is plain and obvious in ohio. everyone in that state knows how important ohio's position is determining yet again, the next president of the united states. talk about that in a little bit. new images we're seeing of sandy's destruction. these are just stunning. new pictures now in major parts of the jersey shore have been washed away. scenes like these, man, they

take your breath away. >> i can't begin to calculate. it's a huge incalcuable amount of work but we'll start calculating starting tomorrow and we'll get to work. all eyes, right here. this is our year. i thought it was last year... turns out i was wrong. none of us would walk in here and settle. that's how we are! i forgot what i was going to say. patrick, i want 100% commitment! because i care man, ok? who are we!? 49ers! 49ers! 49ers! yeah! [ all cheering ]

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martha: hundreds of thousands of connecticut residents are waiting for word when their lights may come back on the state's utility says they are still assessing the damage and repair needs. connecticut's governor announcing federal assistance is on the way for four of state's hardest hit counties. help cam not come fast enough for residents whose homes are still surrounded by water. >> i wasn't prepared. i don't have a gameplan. >> i am thinking i would like to have my power back, pretty quick. i'm not sure how people do it without it. >> there is no electricity. >> it is we'll see we were told in some parts seven to 10 days of no power. martha: that is a long time. it was a busy night for the

national guard in connecticut. they're helping to rescue those who are still stranded and also try to prevent looting in these areas. >> i was flattered that he offered to come but i think the thing for him to do is to go to new jersey and represent the country. bill: that was mayor michael bloomberg, asked whether or not president obama should come to new york. apparently they had a conversation and the mayor suggested, go to jersey. we've got too many things to do here. then he used phrase, i don't mean to diss him but his time is better spent in new jersey. this is a new video out of mantolocking, new jersey. this is seaside heights. this park is in ruin. this represents a symbol how

people viewed the jersey shore and what it means for so many of them. they are running out of words to describe the destruction now in front of them. listen. >> it's crazy. i don't know what to say. i mean it's, we got it. we got away a few times. i guess it was time for us to get it. >> i never seen nothing like it ever, ever. bill: a storm of a generation. congressman frank pallone of new jersey. he lives there, he represents that part of new jersey. had his home in long branch. sir, good morning to you. >> good morning. bill: how's your home? >> my home is fine. we had to evacuate during the storm but i'm back now and i just had some minor damage. bill: that's good news. that is great to hear, sir. so many others that were not as fortunate. you just heard some clips from here and there, the folks that you represent. >> exactly. bill: if we were to take a stroll down the street or down the jersey shore there, what would we see? >> well, in long branch, for

example, the boardwalk is pretty destroyed. also pier village had a lot of damage. if you go further north into sea bright and monmouth beach, those towns are in bad shape because they were below sea level in parts. further along the bayshore i represent, was in union beach yesterday and union beach within maybe three or four blocks of the bay, the storm surge came in and the waves just pounded the houses so a lot of houses just floated away or reduced to rubble. other towns, similar phenomenon. highlands where i was yesterday, highlands, the whole, really the majority of the town was underwater to the point where the water came up almost to the second floor. so most of those houses are not inhabitable. talking about 500 homes. it is just devastation, it really is. bill: sure is. it will take things so long

to get things back to order again. in the near future, in the immediate time, what is it that you need or folks living there, what do they need? >> well i think the most important thing is to avoid these power lines and these gas lines that are broken. as people went back to their homes, you know, i saw all kinds of power lines and gas lines. people have to avoid that for safety reasons. we obviously have to get the power back on because all the towns that i am mentioning in monmouth and middlesex have no power. that creates all kinds of problems on its own. you know, we need shelter for people that can't go back to their homes. i also think it is important to start dealing with some of the infrastructure. for example in keensburg, the dune which protects the town was breeched. if you had even a minor storm now the water would come back in. so one of the things i want to do is make sure that fema, which normally doesn't pay for dunes or shore protection, can do some of that on an emergency basis.

bill: that's a great point. i was especially struck by the comments that your governor made yesterday, chris christie. he was clearly taken aback what he had seen up and down the shore. >> it is just like nothing i have ever seen before. you know, we had irene. last year we had a nor'easter in '92. i remember as a kid hurricane donna but nothing like this. there are so many people stranded without shelter. and the damage to the public infrastructure, to the boardwalks, municipal buildings, firehouses it is just endless. bill: frank pallone, thank you. we're going to stay in touch with you and a lot of others down there and hopefully get the word out. if we can help in any way making the word more public we certainly will, sir. thank you and good luck to you and your family. >> thank you. bill: frank pallone, democrat on the jersey shore. waking up to a whole new world as so many people are. >> sandy's wrath is extending into west virgina. have you seen the snow that

got dumped on west virgina. look at this scene. blizzard conditions there. up to three feet of snow in some parts of the state. we're live there on the ground now. we're going to tell you what is going on. bill: while we continue to deal with that storm damage we can not forget this. you're six days away from an election, america. new polling numbers sew tight races in several key swing states he said. we have got the numbers. you will see them first here in a moment. [ male announcer ] when was the last time something made your jaw drop? campbell's has 24 new soups that will make it drop over, and over again. ♪ from jammin' jerk chicken, to creamy gouda bisque. see what's new from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

martha: we are back. that superstorm is now

backing blizzard conditions across west virgina. this is just, you know, it is like practically a biblical proportion situation. we look at all the different ways it manifested itself. you have parts of the east coast that continue to real from the flood damage. you have parts of the state with up to three feet of snow in west virginia. the weather conditions have forced highways to shut down. knocked out power to hundreds of thousands. earlier in the week people literally could not believe what they were seeing. >> crazy. you can't go nowhere. trees in the road. the interstate is shut down. not much you can do. >> they have four tractor-trailers jackknifed on that mountain. martha: when you have the snow on top of everything else, it is brutal. that is where kelly wright is for us in elkins, west virgina. good morning, kelly. >> reporter: martha, good morning to you. you talk about the man being on the mountain and seeing jackknifed tractor-trailers, we've been on that mountain or several of those

mountains coming into elkins, the seat of randolph county, and oddly enough two in the morning i saw snow crews out there working. they have been working around the clock. governor tomlin commended them for the hard work they're doing to make sure roads can be plowed. here in elkins, you can see the roads have been plowed. we've been all out through this area. the one fundamental thing is, still without power. 14,000 residents alone in randolph county, more than 216,000 throughout the state still without power because of superstorm sandy, bringing in this blizzard. we've been all over the area. we can tell you, it is like a ghost town in some areas. no gas stations are open. the hospital is operating on generator power only. they're only seeing emergencies today. also all of the gas stations that are closed as well. we've also been in the upper elevations where we've seen downed trees and power lines. that is causing a big problem. they're going to have to get with that. it will take a while.

back to you. martha: boy, kelly, good to have you there to get the story out because it is, it is awful. and it is cold on top of everything else for all the poor people who have no power in their homes. kelly, thank you very much. we'll see more later on today. bill: you don't expect to see something like that after this storm but there it is, in plain sight. the storm damage in new york city is stunning too. these floodwaters they run like rivers through parts of lower manhattan now. we will take you there live in a moment. wow, screen left. martha: that is one of the most devastating stories from the storm where fires ravaged more than 100 homes. one of those houses belonged to new york congressman bob turner. he will join us with his story. >> this is half the nabe booed, i don't know how much of the neighborhood but a good chunk of this neighborhood just gone oup says it mahelp lower cholesterol, how does it work? you just he to eat it as part of your heart healthy diet. step 1. eat the soup.

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. martha: fox news alert. recovery is the word of the day, folks as shaken new yorkers try

to take back some sense of normal see, and it's coming back little by little, but boy look at what so many folks are facing. a hundred homes in this beach-front community burned to the ground. this is one of the most devastating sights at all. we'll talk about this when we meet with someone from the community, a conditioning man. 22 deaths were reported in the city alone, extensive damage where the hudson and east rivers overflowed their banks and filled into the streets. look at these pictures of the new york city subway system. this is how we start on this crazy day. it's halloween, you've got six days until the election and look at this scene in new york city. good to have everybody with us today. i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. good morning to you at home. when darkness arrived last evening half the island of manhattan was in the dark. you could dived it in half. across the river you see a town somewhat spooky now that halloween has ride. it could be weeks or months

before the subways reopen fully again. the system hit with the worst disaster it has seen in its 108-year history. >> i don't think it's any secret. sandy hit us very hard. it was a storm of historic insurance tense tee, but new yorkers are resilient and we have seen an enormous outpour of support eager to volunteer, doe in it and help out. we have a plan for recovery, and that recovery is already beginning, i'm happy to say, it's the beginning of a process that we all know will take a while, but this is the end of the downside, and hopefully from here is going up. martha: it is going up. good news from mayor bloomberg. david lee miller joins us live from one of those subway stations in lower manhattan with recovery operations that he says are underway. what are you seeing there, david lee? >> i'm seeing a lot of worried mta workers. take a lock over my shoulder, this is the south ferry subway

station, martha. it is in the southernmost tip of manhattan. it is as you can clearly seaboarded up. you can see the caution tape and sandbags. what you can't see right down that escalator, i walked down there a few moments ago, there is 50 feet, five-oh of water in this station. the army corps. of engineers is here. you can see their emergency april rations truck. a special elite team has arrived consisting of engineers and hydrologists. they are going to assist in trying to restore the new york city subway station. it won't be up and running any time soon as far as most new yorkers are concerned. i want to add something very disturbing that happened a few moments ago, a young man showed up here with what appeared to be fake mta, that is the people who run the subway credentials. he tried to get into the subway

system. he was stopped. they don't know what he is planning to do. he is now under arrest, martha. martha: that's bizarre. we'll find out what is going on with that. a lot of strange things no doubt in the aftermath of all of this. but, you know, you see the trucks and you know that every day will make a little bit of progress in-kind of getting things somewhere back towards normalcy. what about the other starts of new york city, david lee, how is it going there? >> reporter: a lot needs to be accomplished. let me spin around here. this is the ferry station for the staten island ferry, this is where the boats depart from manhattan. on staten island we are told the ferry station there is quote, completely devastated." yesterday, the new york city police department had to make a number of rest cushion in staten island. we are told they used a helicopter to pluck six people off of roof stops. they had to drop a basket, five adults and one child during that emergency evacuation. staten island overall still in very rough condition u. said a

moment ago 22 people have died in new york city, seven of those deaths in staten island. one of them an off-duty new york city police officer who died in staten island, he apparently was electrocuted, and possibly the hardest hit location, breezy point, queens. we've heard about the 100 homes destroyed by fire, let's not forget the fact that more than 100 more have suffered extensive flood damage. people were told to evacuate from there, but more than half of them simply refused to do so. and lastly, let me tell you about what is happening across the hudson river from here in hoboken the streets covered with water, martha. streets barely passable. the officials say 20,000 people now want to be evacuated, they need emergency supplies, they need food, they need generators, they need rafts, they need they say a great deal of help. martha: wow.

>> reporter: lastly now taking advantage of all this bad news here in new york city about 13 people taken into custody for looting, martha. martha: that always ends up being part of the story. 20,000 people need to be evacuated still from hoboken? that is an unbelievable story, and 50 feet of water in that subway station behind you. i mean, we've got to start somewhere but it's a very deep hole as you have told us. david lee, thank you very much. we'll see you a little bit later. bill: that is a major headline, 50 feet of water in a subway at this point? president obama traveling to new jersey today, the devastation there nothing short of breathtaking as you can clearly see in towns like this. in brick township now reeling after completely being reshaped by the storm. governor chris christie reassuring the heartbroken citizens up and down the shore that simply surviving is worth more than anything there now. >> it's a very difficult day. very difficult day. so we just start -- yeah, you

survived. we'll rebuild, we'll make good, you know that. we are tough folks. don't you worry about that. bill: mike emanuel is live at the white house now. what do we expect today? the president is heading to huge, he'll be with the governor, and mike good morning to you there on the north lawn. >> reporter: bill, good morning, we expect president obama will head to the atlantic city area about three hours from now. i expect we'll see him do something before then but this afternoon in new jersey he will return to the role of comforter and chief undoubtedly doing what governor christie was doing there comforting people who lost everything following this devastating hurricane. meeting with first responders, making a few comments about what he's seen and promising that the federal government will restore services and get resources to the people of new jersey as quickly as possible. as for governor christie who has been an outspoken critic of the

president over the past few years, with this matter, this issue things are different. >> if the president of the united states does a good job i will praise him and if he does a bad job i will criticize him. but he has done a good job in the last few days for new jersey, and so he deserves and has earned my praise and he'll get it regardless of what the calendar says because this is much more important than politics, this is the lives of the people of my state. >> reporter: we know governor christie wants to talk to the president about the army core of evenings nearcorps of engineers coming into new jersey and restoring the shore as quickly as possible. bill: how important is this for governor romney. three stops in florida alone. >> reporter: chris stopping florida with former governor jeb bush there. it will be interesting to listen to his tone. the visual will be of course of president obama up in new jersey with victims of the storm. we know governor romney yesterday was in the dayton area doing an event, essentially

calling for relief efforts for the people who are suffering so badly along the east coast, collecting money for the victims of the storm, and so it will be interesting to listen to his tone today. obviously campaigning for president, but also wanting to make sure not to go too far, perhaps, bill. bill: a lot of people make a big deal out of ohio but florida has 29 election threat votes. that is a pot of gold in this race. manning you, mike. sandy's impact is being felt by air travelers around the world. new york's laguardia airport is still closed. jfk and newark are opened. more than 18,000 flights have been grounded thus far and experts say relief may still be a long way off from here. >> we will see more cancellations tomorrow, probably through friday until the airline get their act back together. so i'm not convinced that everyone is going to be able to get back where they are going

until maybe five or seven days from now. bill: the planes, the trains, shipping, public transportation and six major cities essentially forced into lockdown since sandy started. martha: if you come to grips with the full impact of this storm we cannot forget that in six days we elect our next president. here ace look at some of the latest poll numbers that have come out in critical swing states, and these are the quinnipiac polls we are looking at, one of a large group we have out there. in ohio the president has a five-point lead according to this poll that is unchanged from a week ago. then you have florida, the race essentially tied aeu recording taccording to the quinnipiac poll: we've seen them all over the map in florida as well. the president's lead is down nine points in florida. mitt romney campaigning there today. joined by tucker carlson, editor and chief of "th"the daily caller"" and a fox news

contributor. what do you make of these polls. >> certain states remain difficult for the romney campaign, ohio among them. in you look into the center of the poll and this is reflected in other polls as well this week three things jump immediately out. one the movement appears to be on romney's side. voters who are deciding late seem to be going for romney. early voters appear to be going for romney in large numbers. two, older voters have stuck with romney. this is a surprise to many people watching. a lot of people including me thought the paul ryan pick would open up an opportunity to demagog with the obama campaign and peel off older voters. it has not. abortion hasn't worked very well as an issue for the obama campaign. you saw it highlighted during the democratic convention and the idea was it would peel off college educated female voters and increase the gender back. the gender gap has shrunk by half in the past month, that is pretty good news for the romney campaign. martha: let's take a look at florida which is the last on the

list we have in front of us -- have, excuse me. it says 49-47 quinnipiac. when you talk to some strategists they have already been fairly confident about virginia, about north carolina and about florida for mitt romney supporters. i guess the question is at this point how much stock do we put in these polls and how much do we put in sort of the feeling on the ground and the feeling people are getting in different states? >> the striking thing about this election is how little anyone knows. typically a week out you think you know who is going to win. i don't know a single informed person who knows that. i don't think we know. independent voters in the state of virginia are for romney by a 21-point margin, that is good news. how many people haven't decided at this stage? probably a pretty small number. how many people do you know who are still wondering, romney or obama. it is a stark choice and people have made up their minds. it is possible that thanks to

early voting much much the cake has been baked and much of this is over, we just don't know yet. martha: it's going to be an interesting six days. more surprises on the way and no doubt more on election night. bill: we'll try and read some of the tea leaves out there. a fair amount of americans have already voted. which candidate would benefit the most from that? bob and andrea set to duke it out. we'll talk to them. martha: more than a month and a half later authorities have not been allowed to interrogate the main suspect in beg r-r. benghazi. some are saying it's the administration's fault. bill: there are thousands of people in new jersey who have lost their home. millions sit there without power. we are getting new information about how things are moving today. >> it's amazing to see the next day that it was looking the way it was looking. i never thought i'd never see that it would be completely

washed away, literally washed away.

bill: these lingering affects continue in the state of maryland, flooding on the coast giving way to blizzards further west. two feet of snow in western maryland, where more than 17,000 people have no power. this cut everybody by surprise. >> i couldn't believe it. i thought -- they said it was going to get in lower west virginia. i never believed it would get up here. of course we always get snow, but this is crazy. >> it was a surprise. we thought it was going to rain. it was an early storm. we've had early storms before but this woepb got a littl this one got a little colder than we now the. bill: there is no estimate as to when the power will be back on. a number of inches of snow expected through today as well in that same part of maryland. martha: more than half of the state of new jersey is in the dark this morning. electric companies reporting more than 2 million people are still without power. these folk in these pictures of course are without so much more

than just power. they have lost their homes. but for so many people they are just waiting for the power to come back on. boy, look at these unbelievable pictures. i'm sorry i can't help but step off of what we are doing right now, because that is incredible. let's talk a little bit about the power issue as it relates to new jersey across 16 states, really, that are dealing with power issues. karen johnson from pse & g one of the main power companies. i know you folks are extremely busy. we thank you for being with us today. what is the situation out there and what can we look forward to. >> right now we are making progress. since yesterday we restored service to about 30% of the 1.4 million customers who are affected by this devastating hurricane, so we are making some progress. as of right now we do have about 900,000 customers who are still without electricijust going to g around-the-clock to get everybody back on as soon as we

can. martha: that is good news. what is the biggest obstacle to getting where you need to get to bet them back up and running? >> there are two major problems, we had significant storm surge with our rivers here, and the hudson river, and newark bay, et cetera, and so that storm surge did flood a number of our substations so it's a very painstaking process to actually dry them out, clean them out so we can reenergize them and get power back to communities. of course the other issue is we have a number of downed trees, down - downed polls, and equipment et cetera. martha: in terms of getting your trucks around where they need to go, and also one other question for you, i know people are always wanting to call and say how much longer for my neighborhood, what would you tell them and can you send out a blanket statement right now that might help? >> we have been informing them that we do have -- we really have a virtual army of people out there, not only our own

technicians but close to a thousand people from other states, utility workers and contractors on the ground here helping us to get power restored. martha: were there lessons learned from irene same time last year that might help this time? >> we did take a number of steps as a result of irene. we are tightly coordinating our efforts with the office of emergency management, with local officials, we're using social media to reach out to customers and let them know whatee we are doing. we also spent a significant amount of money on tree trimming and other improvements to our infrastructure. martha: how many days before we're back on as a state? >> at this point, you know, we still are assessing the damage, and i'd have to say at this point it could be for some people it could be seven or more days until those last customers get restored. martha: not good news, karen. aoeuplt anxious to gei'm anxious to get home and so many

new jersey citizens are. thank you. bill: the scope of the devastation still baffling even the most seasoned first responders who arrived on the scene and see and hear this. >> i have 34 years on the job, i've never seen this. this amount of devastation. we always think back to the trade center that was different. bill: we'll look at devastating fire that destroyed at least 80 homes in one new york neighborhood, and this is just stunning. we'll talk to a lawmaker, his house was one of those that's now been burned to the ground. he's here live today. martha: just watch this. there is really nothing i can say. >> there it goes. there it goes.

martha: there she goes. unbelievable, in somebody's backyard they watched thaupb fold and there were scenes like that really all across this whole east coast area.

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martha: incredible new video from a viewer on new york's long island of a tree that was being ripped up by its roots by the wind. watch this again, unbelievable. >> there it goes. there it goes. oh, no, oh, no. martha: did you hear that?

look at the roots on that thing coming up. bill: that thing is a hundred years old. martha: you no what, you can just see the power of this storm, and this was the biggest fear of so many people in the area, so many huge, old trees in the towns and city around new york city. look at that. how many feet across do you think that is? bill: say 15, maybe 20. martha: yeah, yeah. un-- look there is the other side of it. bill: this is the danger too when they go down they take the power lines with them and folks sit in the dark for w weeks. martha: you wish and pray it doesn't land on a house. in some cases tragically it did. that kind of scene was playing out all around the area. bill: we'll move away from the storm for a moment here now. there are new reports from u.s. intelligence sources on the deadly attack in libya. fox news reports a terror suspect held in custody in tunisia has been identified by way of surveillance video from the benghazi compound the night of the attack. but the u.s. has not been able to talk to him. randy forbes, republican from virginia, member of the house

armed services committee, and sir good morning to you. >> good morning, bill. bill: how does it impede an investigation if you can't talk to the only man that we believe is under arrest at the moment, or being held? >> well, bill u know that is hugely important to this investigation, and it plays into part of a larger narrative that we've been asking for several weeks now, and one of them is, did we have the military assets that we needed to defend u.s. interest? if not, why? was it because of all these defense cuts? secondly if we had them why didn't we use them? because they were there and available. and the third one is why are we having this massive attempt to try to cover this up, beginning with this fictitious argument about these mobs and these protests against a video. and now we are looking at not even interviewing a key witness that could shed a lot of light on this investigation. bill: let me come back to that point, because the other bit of information that jennifer griffin was reporting last night from the pentagon, from her post at the pentagon is that there

were at least two drones over this area while the attack was in progress, one arrived about an hour into it, was running low on fuel. that was replaced by one that fl flew in from italy. neither was armed. what do you make that of? >> well, bill, two things. first of all, we now know that the white house instantaneously knew who was happening in this particular situation. we are told that the president said that the military should do everything that was necessary. that drone that you were talking about was not only showing what was happening, but it shows that we could have had an f-15 there within an hour. we could have had special forces within two hours and this was a seven-hour long attack. we are trying to find out now what orders were issued, why those orders weren't obeyed, and again, why this huge effort to cover up everything and to mislead the american people and in fact the world about what actually happened when we had video coverage. bill: i did not mean to stop you

so suddenly. but the senator from georgia he was referring to your initial point about the inability to question this man, and he goes back to the first day in office for the president. have a listen here and i'll ask you about it. >> once the president in january of 09 signed the executive order saying we are going to shut down guantanamo r- then any enemy combatant as this individual is, there is no policy in place to take possession of him and interrogate him. bill: is he right? >> he is right, bill . we have been fighting this administration since before they actually were sworn in after they were elected with their attempts not just to shut down guantanamo bay but to keep us having any effective interrogation for some of these attackers on u.s. interests. this is just showing the difficulty of the policies they've had. more importantly, bill it could leave open the question of exactly what happened on this

attack, which is bad, because we can't correct it for other situations, as well as finding out who was at fault in this one. bill: randy forbes, thank you for your time, house member from the state of virginia, appreciate you coming in today, after the reporting last night here in the fox news channel we wanted to get a bit more on that. thank you, sir. here is martha. martha: about 36 hours now after sandy first hit, and the big question for so many families along the shoreline is where do we go from here? there is a nation-wide effort underway to get much-needed support to these people. look at these houses just smashed together along the shoreline, and we are going to talk about how to help. bill: on and on it goes, right? the first votes have already been cast, early voters are out there, even though we are six days away from the election who does that benefit and who might it hurt? bob and andrea on deck.

bill: have a lock at this image from the mta, the mass transit authority here in new york city. this is an image that is coming to us in lower manhatten. that would be down around battery park city, perhaps the wall street area. but there is an image that's been sent out on behalf of the mta that shows the standing water even today in new york.

you think about how deep these subway lines go beneath the street. it could be 50, maybe a hundred feet deep in certain areas. david lee miller about a half hour ago told us that he saw with his own eyes 50 feet of water in one of these locations, one of these subway stations in lower manhattan. you think about all the electric lines that run beneath the streets, you know, what happens when they make contact with water? how do you get the water out? how long does it take to dry? when do you put the electric and the power back on and how do you do it in a way where you don't blow the lines completely out, or is it already lost because the lines have made contact with the water. that's what we are trying to figure out whether or not new york city is operating in days or possibly weeks from now. that from the subway authority here in new york city. wow. martha: and this fox news alert for you right now as the reality of sandy's destruction, as we were just talking about really

sets in for millions of americans. there is already a national effort that is underway to help bring relief to those who were hit hardest, in parts of the united states that are likely to never in some cases be the same. i'm joined now by charlie semanski, senior vice president of services at the red cross. good to have you here today. thank you so much for all you folks are doing. >> good morning, thanks for having me. >> give me a sense of what you are seeing out there in terms of need right now. >> the needs are great. we've got right now 13 states that are impacted, millions of people still without power. last night the red cross opted more than 170 shelters, 9,000 folks in those shelters. as you just mentioned this is an activity that will be going on for weeks not days. this is one of the larger responses we've seen in an area nearly as big as europe. >> it's unbelievable. in terms of sheltering people and the supplies that you need are you in good shape?

and so many people have been sending me tweets, and social media all over the place to each other, how can we help, let us know. shape. we are mobilizing our volunteers, thousands of volunteers moving food into the impacted areas, standing up shelters as they are needed. how can people help? the best way people can help is to remember that the red cross relies on generous contribution of americans. this will be a multi-million dollar effort over many weeks. folks can go to our website red cross.org. call is at 1-800 red cross. or give a simple gift by texting to red cross 90999. martha: say that again. they can text to a number at the red cross. >> they with text the word red cross to 90999 and that will make a $10 gift to the red cross. martha: we are looking at these great photographs of smiling faces and families that are

getting rest and have red cross blankets across their shoulders and we've seen over the course of history how much you all have done for so many. we wish you the best of luck and encourage everybody to do what you can to the extent you can help out with the efforts. best of luck to you, charlie. bill: we are told that 50% of registered vote verse already cast their ballots across the country. it says 19% of republicans surveyed, 15% of democrats have already voted and more than 30% from each party have plans to vote before next tuesday. andrea ta tanteros is on standby, so that bob beckel, cohost of the 5 can have the stage all to his lonesome. we are trying to get andrea miked up. is she there? >> i'm here. bill: good morning. bob, let's start with you. what do you make of these numbers? do they tell you much, based on how you've studied elections, how you've run campaigns?

>> first of all, i mean these numbers every year, every presidential cycle in any event are getting bigger and bigger, the pre voting, which is a new trend in american politics and i think it's only going to grow, that is one. two, the fact that there are more republicans than democrats voting is not at all a surprise to me because a number of those 30 states that have early voting are red states where there would be predominantly republican votes. bill: how about this -- go ahead, make your point. >> the key is what early voting has taken place in swing states. at least in ohio we know according to gallup that that has favored the president, and in other states that that is still out. bill: this is what leads the romney folks, i believe to be a bit encouraged here. four years ago president obama was beating john mccain 55-40 in this survey, and now romney is leading obama 52-45. andrea, how conclusive?

what do you draw from this? >> this is a very big deal. for weeks, bill we've heard the media selling the storyline that supposedly obama is crushing romney in early voting and we see that that is just not true. it shows that he's up seven points. and by the way, bill, that is a 22 point collapse from where president obama was in 2008. bob mentioned the swing states, let's take a look at those. you see that romney is leading in early voting in florida, and in colorado, and leading with absentee ballots in florida and pennsylvania. i would point out with ohio, by the way the president is down 22 million votes and program l 220,220,000 votes. and romney is up 260. this is not good news for obama. >> let's put something in perspective. florida and colorado have already had republican edges in early voting number one. pennsylvania as well, i might

point out because democrats vote more on election today. in ohio it's not even close, in terms of where those absentee ballots, or the early vote ballots are. bill: andrea's big point is that it's a 22 point swing. >> it's a meaningless number, it's a meaningless number. 22 point swing for what? you're talking about from 2008 to 2012. you're talking about a number of days for early voting to take place. you don't know how many people are going to vote between now and next tuesday. bill: what about that andrea. >> i can answer that very easily. look at the gallup number overall among likely registered voters who will vote november 6th. romney leads those by five points, bob. >> it's not five points. that number collapsed down. the polls, all this big momentum you've been trying to sell isn't selling any more, the numbers are collapsed down on most all these folks including the gallup tracking poll. bill: go ahead andrea wrap-up. >> turn out advantage, this is something gallup talked about last week. if you look in the numbers there has been a ten-point swing, that

means more likely voters i should point out are selfidentifying as republicans. we saw this because of the tea party and the influx of all the new voters in 2010. that is really big news for mitt romney. >> if i were you i'd look at one poll. >> we'll be here a week from now and i'll be smiling and you'll be frowning. >> there is more than one gallup poll out there. bill: this is what gallup writes now one of the most respected polling agencies in the country, right we agree on that. >> yes. bill: despite the hype it does note appear that early voting will have a major impact on the u.s. popular vote or be much more prevalent than it was four years ago. >> that's because romney leads by 5 nationally. >> you know how much democrats have pushed this. we'll see if this adds up to anything a weak from today. good hustle andrea, bye-bye. martha: after a wind-fueled fire destroyed more than 80 homes in new york one local lawmaker found that his home was now part of the rubble. up next we'll speak with

congressman bob turner about the unbelievable inferno that left his community looking more like a set from a disaster movie, and first responders recounting chill link stories of the destruction. >> 11 time zone

martha: we have a surprise that i know will be very heart warming for a lot of people out there, because so many are looking for some spiritual guidance in these really tough times. there has been loss of life, loss of homes, loss of everything familiar for so many people in such a large area, so i am so grateful to be joined now by his immanence timothy cardinal dolan the archbishop of new york. cardinal, thank you so much for making your way over across the street during all of this. it's wonderful to see you this morning. >> martha i appreciate the invitation, it gives me a chance to express solidarity of love and prayer with so many who are suffering. martha: when you look at these pictures and i want to put a

picture up that was on the cover of the papers this morning from breezy point. >> oh. martha: i don't know if you can see that image from where you are. >> i can, martha and i noticed it in the paper there. i love breezy point. the money see priest out there is a good friend of mine. i can't get in touch with him. the last time i talked to him he said he was staying with his people. i can only wish him well. what can you say when you see the grieving families, the ruin nation, people without their cherished possessions and homes, but throughout all of it too you begin to see a glimmer of light and hope. people coming together. there's two things that can happen in a tragedy, either we can become selfish, we can become violent, we can be every person for himself, or we can pitch in in solidarity and community to help one another, to rescue one another. thanks be to god that's what is happening throughout

connecticut, throughout new jersey and here within our beloved new york. once again the best, the most noble sentiments are people are coming out, as people are heroic and generous in serving those in need. so even in the midst of our tears there is a smile on our faces, we thank god that that beautiful, good, noble side of people seems to be dominating. martha: boy, you know it's hard i think for some people to dig that out of them right now. >> it is. martha: as they look at what is going on. what is your plan, and do you plan to get out there and see some of this firsthand? >> yes, as you know, martha, we've all been somewhat housebound these days. i've been a telephone jockey trying to call as many people as possible. this morning we got around to some of the police precincts and the fire department just to make sure everybody was okay. i was thrilled to hear from catholic charities and our catholic healthcare networks that all of our facilities are open, running and welcoming people in need.

tomorrow, please, god i'm going to go out to staten island which was so devastated, and this afternoon i hope to visit some of the shelters that are serving people so well. martha: you know, cardinal, when you look at some of this. and i know when you get a first-hand look at it it's going to be shocking to you as well, and you're not from new york. >> no. martha: but we all have embraced having you here and we think of you as a new yorker now, what about that spirit of this community in new york, and new jersey and the surrounding states, in connecticut, long island have you learned about the people here as you have worked? >> it's phenomenal. i learned about it from a distance as the rest of the country and indeed the world did after 9/11. i heard about it from a distance. now i see it firsthand, and i'm not surprised. any other time in the almost four years this i've had the honor to be archbishop in new york that tragedies happened people are just eager to help, people rally around. there is a real sense of what blessed john paul the ii called

solidarity, people coming together in love and support. we've got it here in new york, that is our trump card. once again it's coming through. martha: cardinal, thank you so much. >> thank you, martha, god bless all those who are suffering. martha: you're helping so many people out there and we know they'll be so glad to see you out there making your rounds. >> god bless all. bill: a really good man right there. martha: very good. bill: you saw the pictures from the neighborhood that the cardinal was talking about. u.s. congressman bob turner lives there. he lost his home, and he will be here to talk about that. next. >> all i could see was the heavy black smoke, there are no lights down here. and through the smoke you could see some fire, which was a ton of fire, but the smoke was so heavy blowing in the direction we were at set up, so to speak to beat the fire. t ragu for yea. [ thinking ] woer what other questionable choices i've made? i choose date number 2! whooo! [ sigh of relf ]

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bill: you have heard a lot about this one new york community now coming to terms with the enormous loss of more than 80 homes to this massive fire, fueled for hours by hurricane sandy's wild winds this. photo shows the destruction in the neighborhood of breezy point, queens. screen right is what it used to look like. screen left shows more than a hundred homes burned to the ground. one lawmaker who represents the people living there has a personal stake in this because his home was among them. congressman bob turner is with me now, and sir, good morning to you, and i am so sorry for your loss. >> thank you. there is a lot of pain and suffering down there, but there is still a great spirit. spirit. bill: did you ride the storm out that night? >> i did. and we were equipped to handle storm, not fire. bill: i bet.

what was that like for you? and when was the first time that you saw the flames? >> um, at the very height of the storm, which was about 7:30pm, and the water surge was such that emergency equipment couldn't even get on the peninsula so the fire had -- there was nothing anyone could do, it went unchecked for about two and a half hours. bill: wow. >> but as soon as the water receded the volunteers and the fire department were on the case heroically working in those incredible conditions, water and high winds and flames. bill: you can't drive through that water, so you guys were stuck. there is one road in and one road out. >> uh-huh. bill: how long have you lived there, sir? >> we've been there about 32

years. bill: wow. have you been able to understand this yet? >> i think we have a pretty good appreciation for the forces of nature, but now we have to deal with the aftermath. emergency services were very good, fema is on the case, and our job here is to get the word out to people about what services are available, trying to get a recovery center in the rockaways, it's not only breezy point, but our channel and beach and broadway park. there is enormous damage both by fire and by the storm. bill: you have built a lifetime of relationships with your neighbors. >> um, yes, and some of these stories are very hard breaking

and not -- you know, my wife and i are blessed with friends and family and resources, and we can handle this. and some others are not as fortunate. i think it's time to dwell on that. bill: sir, i can hear it in your voice. my best to you and your wife and everyone else in that neighborhood. >> okay. we've got some work to do. all right? bill: there will be another day. >> okay. bob turner thank yoowe. bill: okay. bob turner, thank you. >> okay. bye. ♪

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